St. louis sophisticate(5)

A striking testament to that restraint is the entry, where a round antique Georgian table and a pair of terra-cotta urns on columns prove that minimal can make a mega impact. The room’s evolution was a collaboration between Joan and Watson. “We were in New York, looking for furniture, and Marshall took me to see this table with its beautiful wood and ‘just right’ proportions. It was so exquisite we decided to buy it,” Joan recalls. “Then I saw these two urns, and of course we had to have pedestals for them. That was what was so fun about shopping with Marshall. There was always this element of surprise. When we saw something we liked, he figured out a way to make it work.”

The urns, Watson adds, are a good illustration of pieces with strong silhouettes. Reproductions with a little age on them—he guesses these to be 20 or 30 years old—the urns also have an “exquisite patina” that he says characterizes all the furniture and accessories. In this case, it’s “efflorescence, a white crust that is the result of lime leaching out of the terra-cotta over a period of years.”

With only a few furnishings, the entry makes a dramatic architectural statement. The French doors and sidelights are gracefully geometric, with their shape underscored by the round counterpoint of the circle fountain outside.

Sources:
Circular table: Agostino Antiques, 212/533-3355, trade only.
Hanging lantern (“Gothic Lantern’’): Holly Hunt, 312/ 661-1900, hollyhunt.com, trade only.
Urns: Randolph & Hein, 800/844-9922, randolphhein.com, trade only.
Pedestals: The Bayberry, 631/267-3000.
Rug: Beauvais Carpet, 212/688-2265.
Flooring: oak with walnut stain.